According to Amnesty International: "TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT Many detainees - including a child - told Amnesty International that they had been tortured or subjected to other cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment at the time of their arrest and transfer to Bamako. Some of them showed marks and scars – including on their backs and chests – to Amnesty International’s delegates. Several detainees told Amnesty International’s delegates that they had been beaten by Malian security forces several times during and after their arrests. [...] A Koran teacher arrested in Timbuktu, on 2 February 2013 at a checkpoint held by French and Malian forces told Amnesty International: “I was kicked and punched by the Malian soldiers, but at this moment the French could not see me. The Malian soldiers also threw sand into my eyes”." ^[+]